JPH0439176A - Fender lower end section structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the rigidity of the lower end section of a fender without increasing the space and improve the appearance of a vehicle body outer plate without increasing the cost by folding the lower end section of the fender to a front pillar lower side drooping behind the fender, and slantly forming a trough section with a U-shaped cross section so that water flows down. CONSTITUTION:The lower end section of a fender 1 is folded to a front pillar lower 6 side drooping behind the fender 1 to form a bottom face 15a, the front pillar lower 6 side of the bottom face 15a is further folded upward to form an inside wall 15b, and a trough section 15 with a U-shaped cross section is formed. The bottom face 15a of the trough section 15 is inclined toward the front end section from the rear end section so that water W flows down, and the front end section is communicated to a wheel house 4. The inclination angle theta in the width direction of the bottom face 15a of the trough section 15 is gradually increased toward the front end section from the rear end section so that the trough section 15 is inclined downward toward the front end from the rear end at a constant gap 19 with the size (c). The lower end section of the fender 1 has a U-shaped cross section, and its rigidity is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a lower end structure of an automobile fender.

[Prior art]

An example of a conventional fender lower end structure is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. That is, in these figures, 1 is a fender, and an opening 3 for a front door 2 is formed on one side of the lower end of the fender, and an inner edge of a wheel house 4 is formed on the other side. Reference numeral 6 denotes a front pillar lower whose lower end hangs down to the back of the lower end of the fender 1, and whose lower end bulges to the outside of the vehicle interior and is located below the lower end of the fender 1. Reference numeral 6a indicates the bulge. Although the lower end of the fender 1 is not shown, it is fixed to the lower end of the front pillar lower part with screws 7, and a bent flange 8 oriented toward the front pillar lower part is formed at the lower end part. has been done. A gap 9 is formed between the bent flange 8 and the lower end bulge 6a of the front pillar lower armour, and the water W flowing down the front pillar lower armour after a car wash, after rain, etc., is collected through this gap. 9 and is discharged outside the vehicle.

Note that arrow F indicates the front of the vehicle.

Other examples of conventional fender lower end structures are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

That is, the basic structure is the same as that of the first conventional example, but a bending part 10 is provided at the lower end of the fender 1 to close the space between the fender 1 and the front pillar lower. A bending mounting flange 11 extending from the end of the bending portion 10 is fastened to the lower front pillar by screws 12 and diagonal holes 3. In this case, the water W flows down from the front and rear of the fender 1 to the outside of the vehicle as shown by the arrows. F in the figure indicates the front of the vehicle.

Note that the technology similar to the conventional example described above was developed in September 1988.
It is disclosed in rNIssAN Prairie Maintenance Manual JD-12 page published by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the former of these conventional examples, since the lower end of the fender 1 is simply formed with a straight bent flange 8, the rigidity of this portion is low. In particular, the longer the width a of the lower end of the fender 1, the greater this tendency becomes.

Furthermore, water W flowing down the front pillar lower part after a car wash or after rain stains the bulge part 6a of the front pillar lower part, resulting in a poor appearance of the part.

On the other hand, in the latter conventional example, since the lower end of the fender 1 is fixed with the screw 12, there is a gap between the lower end of the fender 1 and the bulge 6a of the lower front pillar.
Dimension b) 14 becomes large and looks bad. In this case, in order to improve the appearance, it is conceivable to provide a blindfold such as the molding 18 as shown by the chain line, but this would increase the cost.

Further, since the water W flows down from the front and back directions at the lower end of the fender 1, there is also a problem in that it stains the bulge 6a of the lower front pillar.

The present invention has been made by focusing on the problems of each of these conventional examples, and it is possible to improve the rigidity of the lower end of the fender without increasing the space, and to improve the appearance of the outer panel of the vehicle body without increasing cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide a fender lower end structure as described above.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve this purpose, the lower end of the fender is bent toward the front pillar lower side hanging from the back of the fender to form a bottom surface, and the front pillar lower side of the bottom surface is further bent upward. A bridge portion having a U-shaped cross section is formed at the lower end of the fender, and the bridge portion contacts and fixes the inner wall to the front pillar lower, and its bottom surface is connected to the rear end of the fender. It is sloped so that water flows down from the front end toward the front end, and the front end communicates with the inside of the wheel house.

[For production]

Since the lower end of the fender has a U-shaped cross section, rigidity is improved. In this case, the U-shaped cross-sectional portion, which is the bridge portion, fits within the limited space between the fender and the front pillar lower, so the space does not increase.

Also, water flowing down the front pillar lower is received by the bridge section, flows down to the front end of the bridge section, and then flows down into the wheel house communicating with the bridge section and is discharged outside the vehicle.

Therefore, the outer panels of the vehicle body are not contaminated. In this case, the inner wall of the bridge portion of the lower end of the fender is fixed to the front pillar lower, and the fixing screws are not visible from the outside, so there is no need to hide the fender.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, in which parts that are the same as those of the prior art are denoted by the same reference numerals.

1(a), (b) to FIG. 4, 1 is a fender, on one side of the lower end of which is formed an opening 3 of the front door 2, and on the other side is formed with the inner edge of the wheel house 4. is formed. Reference numeral 6 denotes a front pillar lower whose lower end hangs down to the back of the lower end of the fender 1, and whose lower end bulges to the outside of the vehicle interior and is located below the lower end of the fender 1. Reference numeral 6a indicates the bulge.

The above structure is the same as before.

The lower end of the fender 1 is bent toward the lower front pillar side hanging down from the back of the fender 1 to form a bottom surface 15a, and the front pillar lower 6 side of the bottom surface 15a is further bent upward. A bridge part 15 having a U-shaped cross section is formed at the lower end of the fender 1, and the inner wall 15b of the bridge part 15 is in contact with the front pillar lower part. They are fixed to the lower front pillar by screws 16 and cross-sections 7 via mounting pieces 15J and 15bz attached to the front and rear edges of the wall 15b, respectively.

The bridge portion 15 has a bottom surface 15a inclined so that water W flows downward from the rear end toward the front end, and the front end communicates with the wheel house 4.

Further, the rear end portion of this bridge portion 15 is closed by the side wall of the fender 1 that forms the opening 3.

Further, the bridge portion 15 is inclined downward from the rear end toward the front end while keeping the gap 19 (dimension C) between the lower edge of the fender 1 and the bulge portion 6a of the front pillar lower part constant. Therefore, the lower end of the inner wall 15b in the vehicle longitudinal direction is inclined downward from the rear end toward the front end, and the inclination angle θ in the width direction of the bottom surface 15a is gradually increased from the rear end toward the front end.

That is, the inclination angle θ is 0° at the rear end, but is maximum at the front end.

In the figure, F indicates the front of the vehicle, and R indicates the inside of the vehicle.

With this configuration, since the lower end of the fender 1 has a U-shaped cross section, rigidity is improved. In this case, bridge part 1
Since the U-shaped section 5 fits within the limited space between the fender 1 and the lower front pillar, the space does not increase.

In addition, water W flowing down the front pillar lower part after a car wash or after rain is received by the bridge part 15, and the bridge part 1
5, and then flows down into the wheel house 4 which communicates with the wheel house 4, and is discharged outside the vehicle.

Therefore, water W does not stain the bulging portion 6a of the front pillar lower part, which is the outer panel of the vehicle body, and the appearance is improved. In this case, the lower end of the fender 1 is connected to the bridge portion 15.
The inner wall 15b is fixed to the lower front pillar, and the fixing screws 16 are not visible from the outside, so there is no need for a blindfold as in the conventional case, and there is no cost increase.

〔effect〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the fender
The lower end of the fender is bent toward the front pillar lower side that hangs down from the back of the fender to form a bottom surface, and the front pillar lower side of the bottom surface is further bent upward to form an inner wall. - A bridge part having a U-shaped cross section is formed at the lower end part, and the inner wall of this bridge part contacts and fixes the front pillar lower, and water flows down the bottom surface from the rear end towards the front end. Because the front end of the fender is slanted so that it is connected to the wheel house,
The rigidity of the lower end of the vehicle can be improved without increasing the space, and the appearance of the outer panel of the vehicle body can be improved without increasing costs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1(a), (b) to 4 show one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 (al is an exploded perspective view, FIG. 1(b)
is a rear view of the lower end of the fender, and FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are respectively ll-11, I[[-I[[, IV-T
5 is a side view of the automobile, FIGS. 6 and 7 show conventional examples, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the part circled in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the automobile. A sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 6, FIGS. 8 and 9 show other conventional examples, FIG. 8 is a perspective view equivalent to FIG. 6, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX in FIG. It is a diagram. 1... Fender - 14... Wheel house, 6... Front pillar lower, 15...
... Bridge section, 15a ... Bottom surface, 15b ...
・Inner wall. Sq trouble calculation, 5 drama book θ section 6a) 7th ro 90 θa calculation 9th

Claims (1)

[Claims] The lower end of the fender is bent toward the front pillar lower side that hangs down from the back of the fender to form a bottom surface, and the front pillar lower side of the bottom surface is further bent upward to form an inner wall. A gutter portion having a U-shaped cross section is formed at the lower end of the gutter, the inner wall of which is in contact with and fixed to the front pillar lower, and water flows down the bottom surface from the rear end toward the front end. A lower end structure of a fender characterized by being inclined as shown in FIG.